Dear Friends,
After two
weeks in French Polynesia in late June of this year our team left, having
experienced frustration because of rivalries: denominational, theological, and
personal. The language barriers of French and Tahitian also negatively affected
our operations. At the same time, we
gained valuable experience and insight into how to move forward, if we were
willing to continue God’s leading and stay in His grace. Missionaries encounter adversities of every
conceivable kind, even from the day they set foot in the field of God’s leading.
It is the norm to be shaken, to question, to re-examine. The biggest question that strikes into the
hearts of missionaries is existential: “Did God really call me here?” Tahiti is
a graveyard of missionaries who have asked that question and concluded that the
answer was “No.”
I have kept a journal of my thoughts
and insights on our French Polynesia mission endeavor. It has many pages of cultural insights,
strategies, names of contacts and potential team members. On one page, in large letters is the word
LEUKEMIA, and on another, a year later, LEUKEMIA AGAIN. Acute Myeloid Leukemia and its treatment
count as an obstacle! Many times, for
various reasons, I have been challenged to discontinue learning French, but
always I have resumed. Through the many
adversities, I have continued to say “yes” to the existential missionary
question for one key reason, which goes back to the first time I visited Tahiti
and Moorea in 2016. As I drove around
the island, I noticed the prevalence of cults and churches that were obviously
not grounded in God’s written Word, the Bible.
They were in every town and village on the island, and obviously
prospering. Through this observation God formed in me the heart of a good
Samaritan, a desire to help the dire spiritual needs of French Polynesia. I felt like a medic who suddenly encounters
broken bodies and vehicles and instinctively leaps to action. After our first two pioneering trips, the
scene only looks worse, the spiritual tragedy far greater than my initial
impressions revealed. This is not a
flood; it is a tsunami. So, in two weeks
we go again, asking for your prayers:
1.
Closer relationships and clear communication of
our mission with those we currently know, toward formation of partnerships;
2.
Warm initial meetings with new friends, again
with clear communication of our mission, and especially close listening to
their needs, perceived and real;
3.
Opportunities to partner in active evangelistic
and teaching ministries while we are there;
4.
Opportunities to share the Gospel;
5.
Continued insight into the dynamics of
denominations, personal relationships, and culture;
6.
Opportunities to heal broken relationships
between believers through the power of the cross;
7.
Healthy and safe travel, not only to and from
Tahiti, but also while there.
With Thanks
for Your Partnership in His Great Commission,
Mark and Rene' Perkins
